Proutiere, Alexandre

Abstract [en]

We consider a network with a fixed number of links whose transmitters are saturated and access a channel using a random back-off algorithm. Some of the links may be hidden in the sense that they do not interfere with all other links but rather with a subset of the links. Using mean field techniques, we analyze a variety of random back-off algorithms by explicit calculating the throughput of the links in such networks. We apply our results to analyze the performance of the exponential back-off algorithm in networks with partial interaction. The results are striking and confirm experimental results. Hidden transmitters that fail to sense collisions with other links unfairly grab too much bandwidth at the expense of transmitters that comply with the back-off rules. We believe the model can be used to develop new algorithms realizing an adequate trade-off between fairness and efficiency.